WannaCry Was the Top Ransomware Attack in 2019: Report
Remember the widespreadWannaCry ransomwarecyberattack from 2017 that became a nightmare to organizations and the general public? It is apparently still going strong, according to Precise Security, a computer security firm.
A recentreportfrom Precise Security notes that WannaCry was the most commonly encountered ransomware attack in 2019. For the uninitiated, WannaCry ransomware encrypts all the data present in your PC and locks you out from it. About 23.56% of all encryption ransomware attacks that took place during the past year were based on WannaCry.Credits: Precise Security
The report mentions that theWannaCry ransomware caused $4 billion in lossesacross the world. That indeed is a huge sum of money, isn’t it?
Microsoft did patch the vulnerability but a lot of people did not care to keep their PC updated which in turn made them vulnerable to attacks. A prime example of this would be the rising number of attacks against government agencies running an outdated copy of Windows.
As far as the causes of these ransomware infections are concerned, spam and phishing emails top the list. About 67% of ransomware attacks are believed to be caused due to spam emails. In fact, the firm notes that spam messages account for 55 % of global email traffic.
A lack ofcybersecurity trainingturns out to be the second most common cause with a 36% share. Usingweak passwordscomes close with a 30% share. Other reasons include poor user practices, malicious website ads, and clickbait.
As a preventive measure, it is recommended to keep your Windows PC updated along with all the security updates. Check out our in-depth guidehereto protect your Windows PC from WannaCry ransomware.
Subin B
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
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